The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1887-01-03
The Appellate Court.

10 the Ed'tor OF the Indianapolis Journal
At the last meeting of the State Bar Associa-
ton committee was appointed to take into con-
sideration the organization of appellate court,
and report recommendations on the subject to
be submitted to the Legislature. At meeting
of the committed held on Nov. %, some progress
made. and adjournment taken until
Tuesday, Jan. 4, when it is hoped fuller at
tendance will be secured and final action had.
In the meantime, it is quite desirable that the
subject shall be discussed, so that all the COM
mittee, the legislators and the public generally
may have opportunity to consider and compare
tho somewhat widely differing views entertained
on the subject
The immediate evil to be met is the blockade
OF business in the Supreme Court The Consti
tuition limits that body to FIVE judges. They
cannot keep up with the business. The assist
ing commission of five members, created in 1881,
But since ITS termination they are
again falling behind. That the
sum total of litigation in the State both in num-
| Der and importance Of causes will increase is to
be expected. No remedy for the present evil
| will be wise one that does not anticipate that
| fact and provide for it. Such a plan ought, as
it appears to me, to embrace, among others, the
| following points:
| !. The Supreme Court should be and remain
as its name implies. the final arbiter of the law
| for the whole State and all its tribunals. There
| should not be two courts moving parallel
| lines, and each promulgating decisions in APP
| neaied cases. With two such courts neither
would be supreme.
| g Hence the appellate jurisdiction of the
! State cannot be parttioned between two courts
| upon any line depending on the amount in con-
troversy. It would make the law ridiculous in
/ <l<A ~ Ia &hA< on.~;o
a cause involving one Thousand dollars should be
| finally and irreversbly bound by one rule of
/ law and his neighbor, with a cause involving
| two thousand dollars but otherwise identical
with the former, bound by the opposite rule
1 Yet this would be liable to occur at any time
and sure to occur sometimes, if the causes were
submitted for final decision to separate and in
dependent courts.
8 We must. therefore, make and keep the
Supreme Court the sole and final arbiter of the
] law. To do this we must arrange the business
so that the judges of that court shall settle all
the law, by deciding fewer causes with less labor
The first step toward that end will be to relieve
| that court from the duty of deciding or looking
| into any question of fact in any case. Between
these and questions of law there is a wide differ
| ence. The truth Of the dispute between and
4 B in point of fact is thing which concerns
/ them alone The rule of law which shall be ap
piled to their concerns the whole State, be-
| cause it becomes Immediately the rule for all
| other like cases The records filed Ia the Su-
|
| pleadngs, motions and orders raising questions
| of law, and bare recital of such part of the
evidence may be necessary in any case for the
| apprehension of any question of law arising
upon it. All records and briefs should be
printed The judges should not be required or
| even allowed to write opinions points already
| settled by previous decisions of the same court
| These changes would practically transform
| the Supreme Court into a court of
errors which it ought to be. And ]
think l shall have the concurrence of
| every Judge who has served on that bench in the
| opinion that they would abridge the present la,
| Dor Of its incumbents one half. If So it would
enable the present number to keep up with the
| present business That would need, at some
future time, to provide for an increase of judges,
| by amendment Of the Constitution, is likely; but
there would be time enough for that
If. either with without these changes we
| would provide each judge with a secretary, we
! would make most economical investment of
money. The judges usually, and ought al
| ways TO be, MEN of mature, not TO say advanced
years. And If subtract from their lives the
| time strength and eyesight used up in going
through interminable and i'll written records and
briefs in verifying carelessly cited authorities,
in hunting others rot cited at all, but neces-
sary to be considered in order to an intelligent
decision of the cause. and in writing and re-
writing their opinieas when formed, we shall
e. that the net remainder devoted to actual